A year in review: 2018

Ah 2018, it’s over and honestly I can’t figure out how as it just bloody started. It’s been a super quick year this year, hasn’t it? It seems like it’s absolutely flown by, but they do say (however cliche) that time flies when you’re having fun and it’s been a pretty fun year for us. So much changed so quickly in 2018, but at the same time it almost felt like it went so quickly I barely achieved anything, you know? I did a little year in review on my instagram with my favourite feed posts earlier today, and it was lovely to go back to and think about all the things we got up to this year that feel like they happened years ago.

January

The year started off pretty slowly, which it always does for me. Work is pretty hectic for me in January, so I was away travelling quite a lot, and went to a conference. Steve and I were so busy starting our coursework and recovering from Christmas so we spent most of our time in Aberdeen just chilling out, going to the gym and watching lots of movies.

February

My little nephew turned one, which was exciting and also scary. How can he almost be two already?! It’s amazing watching little ones grow into little people though. He’s changed so much in the last year. We also went on our first holiday abroad in a few years to Amsterdam for five days, and had SO much fun. It was beautiful in the winter, I’d definitely go back to Amsterdam in the winter again. I much prefer colder holidays to warm ones (controversial). We got to cosy up in our hotel room with tea and a movie and loads of comfort food in the evenings which is just perfection to me.

March

March is another odd month for me, work is so crazy that I’m barely at home. It snowed, and Aberdeen didn’t have bread in the shops for like a week so that was fun… I had my interview at my new work and got the job, so we started hunting for a flat to move into in Edinburgh. We went to see 30 seconds to Mars in Glasgow, and had wee look around Leith before deciding to definitely move there. I knew immediately that we’d love it, and I’m so chuffed to be living here now!

April

We moved to Edinburgh and I started my new job in a brand new city. Luckily, the job was essentially exactly the same as my previous role so it wasn’t too crazy having to move and start a brand new job. We adventured around Edinburgh so much in April, it was lovely getting to know the city better and we finally started doing actual ‘date nights’ just getting out of the flat and getting back to doing that kind of thing. Steve also started his first full time job since graduating too, so we started to be able to enjoy things a bit more without the added stress of student life. I also discovered the BEST vegan donuts in the history of the world….

May

We bought a flat. That’s pretty mental. It’s still being built, and we don’t actually move in until May 2019, but we officially own a property. I can’t wait to start posting about all things interiors once we move in. We can actually see it being built from our current flat which is pretty frustrating, watching it slowly go up just makes me want to move in more and more. We spent most of May soaking up the sun, and exploring Leith and the rest of Edinburgh. It was such a hot summer it made it very easy to fall in love with Edinburgh and we had absolutely no excuse to stay in the flat.

June

In June we had a pretty hectic month with work so I spent most of my weekdays travelling around the rest of the UK. Luckily the weather was absolutely beautiful so we spent all of our weekends adventuring our new city! We visited as many of the tourist spots as we could like the museums, Arthurs Seat and many of the hidden castles that are nearby. We also got to go and see Wicked at the Edinburgh Playhouse which was pretty amazing, I’ve wanted to see it for years and we were so lucky to get some free tickets to go and see it!

July

I went for a wee trip to Bournemouth with my sister and mum for mums birthday, we went to Rick Stein’s restaurant which was on mum’s bucket list. It was pretty disappointing food for veggies (obviously), but the company was exquisite and we had a right old giggle larking about in the sun. We also stayed in a pensioner hotel which was absolutely hilarious, it was like faulty towers but filled with over 60’s. Then, in mid July our friends Curtis and Laura came up to visit and we took them to see our favourite bits of Edinburgh. Steven and I also took a few days off and booked a wee trip to the West Coast of Scotland, we’d read about Gleddoch Hotel and decided it would be perfect mini break, and the weather was in our favour too. We got the sit in the hot tub looking over the clyde with a drink and visit Loch Lomond, Dumbarton Castle and some other amazing sights.

August

In August, I took the first week off as my mum, sister and nephew came up to visit. We adventured the fringe, saw all the sights and had some lovely family time. It was bloody scorching too, honestly we had such a hot summer. I’m not used to it. Our friend Harry took us to our first fringe show, it was an odd one but it was also hilarious. We absolutely loved it. I went on my first Highland tour for work and got to see the Isle of Skye and some other incredible sights. Steve got a promotion at work and absolutely nailed it from the start (I’m so SO proud).

September

Work work work work. September is Scottish UCAS, and I’m the only person in my team so I went to 15 cities/towns in the space of 3 weeks across Scotland. Luckily there was also some fun stuff, during September it was also our second wedding anniversary, our 6 year anniversary and my birthday. We went to an amazing restaurant for our joint anniversary and my birthday celebrations and it was beautiful. September was just a bit hectic with work for both of us. By the end, we needed a bloody holiday. We were both absolutely shattered!

October

The highlight of October was Steve’s birthday. We arranged a wee surprise dinner and family visit for him. It was lovely. We also visited Newcastle for a mini staycation. I think we just needed out of the city for a change, it was lovely to get away and see a new city, especially as it’s so close to us! We also lost the pup, which was possibly one of the worst things that could have happened in our lives, Jasper was the bestest dog ever.

November

In November my mum came up to visit with her best friend and we visited all the main tourist hot spots in Edinburgh, once again, but this time they were festive so it was basically brand new okay?! It was my first time visiting ‘Edinburgh’s Christmas’ aka the christmas markets and they were so pretty, but there were FAR too many people. It was so crowded. We got some amazing pancakes, mum got some churros and they had a stall that actually served bread bowls filled with cheese (if I only I ate cheese!!!!) and potatoes on sticks… NOM.

December

The first week of December we watched Steve’s bestest and oldest friend get married to the man of her dreams at the most beautiful wedding ever and went on a family break for a week to Norham, near Berwick-upon-Tweed. We were so excited to get away and spend time together eating, drinking and playing board games. It seems so silly, but we honestly love playing board games.. Articulate is our ultimate favourite. December is my favourite because I absolutely love Christmas and Steve is SUPER festive so we’re always in a good mood during December. We both finished up work on the 21st, and travelled down to visit my family in England followed by a visit to Steve’s in Dumfries. Now we’re back in Edinburgh for new year, and plan to do absolutely nothing except eat some slightly healthier food (sick to death of sweets, takeaways and crisps by now!), have a wee drink and watch a movie or probably more Friday Night Dinner to be honest.

It’s been an absolutely mental year. It’s been so much fun, but it’s gone SO quickly. I can’t wait to see what 2019 has in store for us.

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Ysabelle Graham-Smith

I'm a 25 year old plant-based, coffee drinking wife living in Edinburgh, Scotland. I spend a lot of my time listening to podcasts and writing rubbish on the internet. You'll probably find me with my headphones in, drinking coffee and scrolling through instagram in a jumper and jeans at a cafe.